Did Ayrton kill himself as Damon Hill suggests?
Discussion
My "memory" was boosted by watching the first few races of the 1994 season on video the other day. I felt the same too i.e that he appeared to have a troubled mind.
According to Aotosport this week, Senna was not 100% sure he had done the right thing by moving to Williams. As it turned out, the Williams really WAS the best car of 1994 but it took a few races for all the bugs to be ironed out. Also, Senna was absolutely convinced that Benetton were cheating. Whether they were or not, the important thing is that Senna (and Williams) thought they were. It's interesting watching Hill being interviewed after the French GP. He had qualified on pole and he said that he made the best start off the line he had ever made but was absolutely astonished to see Schumacher shoot past him down the inside. It is obvious that he was making a guarded reference to the fact the the Benetton's getaway was far better than a car without traction control should be.
According to Aotosport this week, Senna was not 100% sure he had done the right thing by moving to Williams. As it turned out, the Williams really WAS the best car of 1994 but it took a few races for all the bugs to be ironed out. Also, Senna was absolutely convinced that Benetton were cheating. Whether they were or not, the important thing is that Senna (and Williams) thought they were. It's interesting watching Hill being interviewed after the French GP. He had qualified on pole and he said that he made the best start off the line he had ever made but was absolutely astonished to see Schumacher shoot past him down the inside. It is obvious that he was making a guarded reference to the fact the the Benetton's getaway was far better than a car without traction control should be.
Eric Mc said:
It is obvious that he was making a guarded reference to the fact the the Benetton's getaway was far better than a car without traction control should be.
I remember the same sentiments at the time, the eventual outcome (i think) a few seasons later was a ban on launch control, and who would put it past Slippery Flavio and The Red Baron...
The traction control story came out a few years ago. Banned at the beginning of 94, it became clear that Benetton had only disabled it - the code was still in the management.
Senna had spotted that one particular engineer always plugged his laptop in before Schumacher's car was started. He believed that this laptop unlocked the magic option. Of course, as soon as the engine was switched off at the end of the race, the RAM was deleted - no traceable record!
You will recall that at the British Grand Prix, Schumacher played silly beggars on the warm up lap, racing ahead of Hill. The story suggests that he wasn't in charge of that car, and the magical "option 13" had decided that the race had started.
Now this may all be gossip, but the story allegedly came from a former Benetton insider.
Moving on, the NCAP story:
After Senna's death, you will recall that Max Mosley came under intense fire, with all sorts of scaremongering (especially with Wendlinger's crash following so soon). Ever the PR master, Max planned to go on the offensive by saying how F1 cars were so much safer than roadcars. as they did the research, he suddenly realised that roadcar crash tests were woefully out of date (something like 30 years), simplistic (just drive into a concrete block, full on) and at slow speed. He also realised that the manufacturers had been applying immense pressure to keep it this way, and the EEC has been complicit.
When Max met the same resistance, he basically said "we'll do it ourselves then. And you realise that if anyone can get this on the 9 o'clock news, I can". They devised faster, more complex tests, bought the cars themselves, heavily publicised the results, and sure enough everyone (the press, the public, and finally the manufacturers) too notice.
I don't have the figures to hand, but the number of road deaths prevented and/or preventable across Europe are truly incredible - we are talking a 5-figure number every year.
So in short, Senna's death caused the end of the Metro. A small silver lining on a very dark cloud.
Senna had spotted that one particular engineer always plugged his laptop in before Schumacher's car was started. He believed that this laptop unlocked the magic option. Of course, as soon as the engine was switched off at the end of the race, the RAM was deleted - no traceable record!
You will recall that at the British Grand Prix, Schumacher played silly beggars on the warm up lap, racing ahead of Hill. The story suggests that he wasn't in charge of that car, and the magical "option 13" had decided that the race had started.
Now this may all be gossip, but the story allegedly came from a former Benetton insider.
Moving on, the NCAP story:
After Senna's death, you will recall that Max Mosley came under intense fire, with all sorts of scaremongering (especially with Wendlinger's crash following so soon). Ever the PR master, Max planned to go on the offensive by saying how F1 cars were so much safer than roadcars. as they did the research, he suddenly realised that roadcar crash tests were woefully out of date (something like 30 years), simplistic (just drive into a concrete block, full on) and at slow speed. He also realised that the manufacturers had been applying immense pressure to keep it this way, and the EEC has been complicit.
When Max met the same resistance, he basically said "we'll do it ourselves then. And you realise that if anyone can get this on the 9 o'clock news, I can". They devised faster, more complex tests, bought the cars themselves, heavily publicised the results, and sure enough everyone (the press, the public, and finally the manufacturers) too notice.
I don't have the figures to hand, but the number of road deaths prevented and/or preventable across Europe are truly incredible - we are talking a 5-figure number every year.
So in short, Senna's death caused the end of the Metro. A small silver lining on a very dark cloud.
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff